Agro-Velho

Nova Póvoa
district of Póvoa de Varzim
Agro-Velho
Avenida Repatriamento dos Poveiros
district location in the city's urban area
Póvoa de Varzim
Country	Portugal
Municipality	Póvoa de Varzim
Demographics
Postal Code	4490
Area code(s)	252

Agro-Velho, historically and popularly known as Nova Póvoa, is one of the eleven officially designated districts located in the Portuguese city of Póvoa de Varzim. It is a beach resort district located around Lagoa Cove.

It was mostly developed between the 1970s and the 1980s with high-rise buildings in the area of a dried-up saltwater lagoon, and it is the north expansion of the city's traditional beach district, Bairro Norte. Most of the highrise buildings of the city are clustered in this area, around Vasco da Gama avenue.

The beachfront area was the location of a Roman fish factory complex, one of the buildings dated to the 1st century, the district only developed in the 20th century with the northwards expansion of Avenida dos Banhos and opening of Avenida Vasco da Gama. Early attractions include the horse track Velódromo in 1925, which later became Gomes de Amorim stadium, home of Sporting Club da Póvoa (1916-1940s), Varzim S.C. stadium in 1932, and the Póvoa de Varzim Bullfighting Arena in 1949. It became the sports center of Póvoa de Varzim for much of the 20th century.

Agro-Velho is bounded by Bairro Norte on the south, Parque da Cidade on the east, A Ver-o-Mar to the North, and by the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

It is located on the site of a former lagoon. The name of the district's beach, "Lagoa" (Lagoon in English) is taken from it. The district is the northwards expansion of Póvoa's traditional beach district, the Bairro Norte.

The district's main beach is Lagoa, in Lagoa Cove, there are others in the cove's flanks, such as Beijinhos and Verde Beach to the south and Fragosinho to the North. Lagoa has a surfing spot and the beachfront is, currently, mostly pedestrian and has beach bars.

Avenida Vasco da Gama, the south boundary with Bairro Norte, is one of the main central business avenues of the city. The wide Praça Almeida Garrett is the main district's square, but unofficial Touro Square, with its famous sculpture, between Vasco da Gama and Repatriamento dos Poveiros is the most charismatic and famous of the district's squares.